Digital Commons Network^™

Aggression And Its Consequences In Nursing: A More Complete Story By Adding Its Social Context, Liu-Qin Yang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using a 471-case nursing sample, the current study examined the direct and indirect relationships between workplace aggression (including physical and psychological) against nurses and their health and safety consequences. Specifically, physical and psychological aggression nurses experienced were related to their job dissatisfaction, turnover intention, physical symptoms, injuries and exposure to contagious disease directly and/or indirectly through their emotional strain (irritation, anxiety, and depression). In addition, my findings demonstrated that stronger violence prevention climate (i.e., good prevention practices/response and low pressure for unsafe practices) was related to less frequent violence and psychological aggression incidents nurses experienced. Also, my results indicated significant …

Framework For Self Sustaining Eco-Village, Eric Holtgard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Why are modern American cities fundamentally dependant on outsourced resources and dirty power? Why can't modern cities support themselves and their inhabitants without relying on resources from half way across the world? Even within the city itself, community neighborhoods are disconnected and bisected by massive expanses of life endangering highways. Why can't we wake up and open our eyes to the urban reality we are creating for future generations. Future cities must look past immediate gain and focus on long term sustainability rather than compiling L.E.E.D. points or making a selfish profit.

Sustainable Infrastructure is the first step towards freeing …

Work-Family Conflict, Eating Behaviors, And The Role Of Coping, Ashley G. Walvoord

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There were two primary aims of the present study. The first aim was to examine the relationships between work-interference-with-family (WIF) and specific eating behaviors (eating vegetables, fruits, snack foods) reported by employed mothers, as it relates to health criteria such as BMI. Related to this first aim, household coping strategies were proposed as playing a significant role in the relationship between WIF and eating behaviors. The second aim was to investigate the crossover of WIF to specific child eating behaviors via mother feeding practices or mother eating behaviors.

Self-report and other-report survey data were collected from working mothers and their …

Multimodal Text Designers: A Case Study Of Literacy Events In A Multicultural Context, Mary-Virginia Feger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The erasure of Latino/a adolescents' multiliteracies in school settings affects both their views of education and their entry into the community outside of school. Framed by literacy-as-social-practices perspectives and communities of practice theory, this case study explored what happened when a group of 13 Latino/a adolescents and their Latina teacher engaged in a six-week play production in an after-school program and performed the play for parents. It examined the relationship between the participants' discourse practices and their performance, and determined how they validated their performances. Data collected included observations, interviews, students' written reflective responses, a fieldwork journal, and a DVD …

Effects Of Diluent Addition And Metal Support Interactions In Heterogeneous Catalysis: Sic/Vpo Catalysts For Maleic Anhydride Production And Co/Silica Supported Catalysts For Fts, Ala'a Hamed Kababji

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work begins with an introduction to catalysis focusing on heterogeneous systems and surface science phenomena. A study on the partial oxidation reaction of n-butane to maleic anhydride (MA) is presented in the first part. MA supplies are barely adequate for market requirements due to continued strong demand. Only slight improvement in catalytic performance would be welcome in the industrial community. The vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO) catalyst was used in this work. The reaction is highly exothermic and the need to properly support the catalyst, not only for good dispersion but adequate heat dissipation is of crucial importance. For this, …

The Participation Of Ngos In Healthcare: The Case Of Pediatric Cancer Treatment In Argentina, Cecilia Vindrola Padros

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The deterioration of the Argentine public health system has lead to an increase in non-governmental involvement in the provision of health services. The emerging relationship between these sectors is filled with tensions, contradictions, and negotiations, reflecting the historical trajectory of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the transformations of the public health system. These problems are specifically evident in programs that focus on pediatric oncology treatment due to the fact that ideas about childhood, chronic disease, and mortality construct an unusual collaborative framework between governmental and non-governmental healthcare professionals. Pediatric cancer contradicts traditional notions of childhood; it points out the ambivalences associated …

Intradermal Delivery Of Plasmids Encoding Angiogenic Growth Factors By Electroporation Promotes Wound Healing And Neovascularization, Bernadette Ferraro

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gene therapy techniques delivering exogenous angiogenic growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), are currently being investigated as potential treatments for ischemia resulting from a variety of conditions, such as peripheral artery disease (PAD) and chronic wounds. Despite these intense efforts, a viable clinical option to promote therapeutic neovascularization remains elusive. Electroporation is a simple in vivo method to deliver normally impermeable molecules, such as plasmid DNA, to a variety of tissues including skin and muscle. This study investigated intradermal injection of plasmids encoding angiogenic growth factors with electroporation as a novel …

Personality And Work-Family Conflict: The Mediational Role Of Coping Styles, Rebecca H. Bryant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although an extensive body of literature exists on the consequences of work-family conflict (WFC), comparatively little research has examined the construct's antecedents. Research on two sets of antecedent variables, personality and coping style, is particularly scarce. Thus, the present study expands the literature by examining four personality variables (conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and locus of control) and five coping styles (problem solving, support seeking, positive cognitive restructuring, rumination, and escape) in relation to work-interference-with-family (WIF) and family-interference-with-work (FIW) conflict. Additionally, coping style, which was assessed separately for managing work stressors and for managing family stressors, was examined as a potential mediator …

Child Psychopathology, Parental Problem Perception, And Help-Seeking Behaviors, Jessica Curley Hankinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Service underutilization is a major problem facing children with emotional and behavioral problems. In addition, parents are often the ones most responsible for seeking help for their children. However, many children do not receive adequate help because parents do not perceive a problem or do not recognize that a child is in need. The present study examined parental thresholds for problem perception and subsequent help-seeking decisions based on children's behaviors presented in a vignette. It was hypothesized that the type of child behavior, child and parent gender, and other parental characteristics would be associated with different thresholds for problem perception …

Effect Of Permeate Suction On The Performance Of Spiral Wound Nanofiltration Module, Awad Abdel Monem El-Shamy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fouling in a nanofitration membrane module is usually a result of concentration polarization. The effect of permeate suction on the slightly negatively charged spiral wound nanofiltration membrane is investigated. According to the film theory, the mass transfer coefficient is inversely proportional to concentration polarization. The effect of permeate suction destabilizes the boundary layer. This will decrease the concentration polarization layer, and consequently will increase mass transfer through the membrane's surface.

To validate the hypothesis, experiments were carried out on a NF membrane that can be described by the solution-diffusion model. This model has coefficients that can be measured experimentally. Using …

Risk Communication: An Analysis Of Message Source And Function In Hurricane Mitigation/Preparedness Communication, Andrew M. Gallo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In September 2008, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted that Hurricane Ike would make landfall on Galveston Island as a strong category three storm. This led the NWS to release a statement of 'certain death' if people did not adhere to the emergency evacuation messages. Millions of people fled the Texas coast. Using Hazleton and Long's (1993) taxonomy of public relations strategies, experimental methods were conducted with various evacuation messages to test emergency communication. Grunig's (1997) situational theory of publics was used to determine strategy influence. Problem recognition, constraint recognition, and level of involvement were tested. In addition, tests were …

A Study Of Transformational Change At Three Schools Of Nursing Implementing Healthcare Informatics, Revonda Leota Cornell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality (IOM, 2003) proposed strategies for higher education leaders and faculty to transform their institutions in ways that address the healthcare problems. This study provides higher education leaders and faculty with empirical data about the processes of change involved to implement the core competency of healthcare informatics. I chose the core competency of health care informatics as a base from which to conduct semi-structured interviews with faculty and college leaders at three schools of nursing intending to capture their stories about how healthcare informatics has been implemented, what strategies were used, and why …

Terror Management And Self-Enhancement: The Moderating Role Of Self-Esteem And Need For Closure, Nathan A. Heflick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terror management theory posits that self-esteem ultimately protects people from death anxiety. Much research has demonstrated that individuals reminded of death tend to self-enhance. However, more recent research suggests that need for closure and self-esteem might moderate these findings, but no research has directly tested this. It was hypothesized that for people high in self-esteem, mortality salience will not affect self-enhancement. However, for individuals low in self-esteem, it will either increase enhancement (if low in closure) or increase verification (if high in closure). These hypotheses were fully supported using Christian's perceptions of God's love as the dependent variable. Implications for …

A Multiple Case Study Analysis Of Middle Grades Social Studies Teachers' Instructional Use Of Digital Technology With Academically Talented Students At Three High-Performing Middle Schools, Caroline C. Sheffield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Appropriate education for academically talented students incorporates the use of complex thinking skills, and encourages the development of interpersonal and leadership skills. One potential tool to achieve these goals is the use of instructional technology. Siegle (2004a, 2005) suggests that it is particularly appropriate to utilize technology with the highly-able because they often possess skills that are effective when using today's technology, specifically abstract thinking and rapid processing.

This mixed methods multiple case study explored middle school social studies teachers' instructional use of digital technology to teach highly-able students. The participant teachers were from three high-performing schools, as identified by …

Development Of A Framework To Identify Patient Pathways Through A Segment Of The Health Care Cycle, Abhik Bhattacharya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The US spends more money on health care than other industrialized nations. Nevertheless, the US lags behind them in life expectancies, access to care, and other health indicators. This can be attributed to the numerous issues that afflict the US health care sector - the lack of a universal health coverage, increasing medical errors, over and under-treatment of patients, lack of standardization, and so on.

It is believed that the structure of health care delivery as it exists in the US is broken, which consequently reduces the quality of provided care and increases costs. There is a growing consensus among …

Does Goal Generation Vary As A Function Of Depressive Status?, Lindsay Brauer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although many theories attempt to explain the manner in which deficits in goal generation may lead to an episode of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), few studies have actually described how persons with depression vulnerability generate goals for themselves. The current project used a multi-dimensional approach to examine the types, numbers, and domains in which goals are generated, comparing individuals with MDD with individuals with remitted depression, and never-depressed controls. In addition, we examined possible mechanisms that may mediate the relationship between depressive status and goal generation. Surprisingly, results suggested little group difference in the types of goals or subjective ratings …

How Personality And Self-Identity Impact The Effects Of Leader Member Exchange On Role Stressors And Organizational Outcomes, Edward Rickamer Hoover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how followers' personality and self-identity moderated their leader's ability to influence organizational outcomes through management of role stressors experienced by the follower. Data was obtained through large group testing, sample size equaled 232, with performance measures being provided by supervisors (43% return rate). Results demonstrated that while Leader Member Exchange (LMX) had a linear relationship with role ambiguity and role conflict, it had a curvilinear relationship with role overload. Thus providing evidence that under certain conditions leadership can lead to negative outcomes. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that LMX indirectly influences both affective and cognitive variables through role …

The Impact Of Situational Context On Children's Social Information Processing: The Proximal Influence Of Friends, Heather L. Smith-Schrant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is increasing recognition that contextual aspects of social situations are important determinants of children's social information processing. While it is generally accepted that friends influence children's social behavior, the immediate influence of a friend in specific conflict situations is less understood. Contextualized vignettes depicting hypothetical peer conflict situations were developed to examine the impact of situational context, namely a friend's suggested attribution and an antagonist action cue, on students' social information processing. A repeated measures design examined the proximal influence of situational context on 4^th and 5^th grade students' (N=367) own intent attributions, emotional reactions, and response …

Transitional Care For Adolescents With Hiv: Characteristics And Current Practices Of The Adolescent Trials Network Systems Of Care, Patricia Gilliam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Advances in antiretroviral therapy have resulted in a significant increase in life expectancy for HIV-infected individuals, with more pediatric patients transitioning to adult care. The transition process from pediatric to adult care for adolescents with chronic diseases, such as HIV, is always a challenge.

Purpose: The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to describe the characteristics, processes and practice models used by the Adolescent Trials Network (ATN) systems of care that assist adolescents with HIV disease to transition from child-centered care to adult-centered care.

Method: This study used health care providers affiliated with the Adolescent Trials Network of …

Predicting The Medical Management Requirements Of Large Scale Mass Casualty Events Using Computer Simulation, Scott A. Zuerlein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent events throughout the world and in the US lend support to the belief that another terrorist attack on the US is likely, perhaps probable. Given the potential for large numbers of casualties to be produced by a blast using conventional explosives, it is imperative that health systems across the nation consider the risks in their jurisdictions and take steps to better prepare for the possibility of an attack. Computer modeling and simulation offers a viable and useful methodology to better prepare an organization or system to respond to a large scale event. The real question, given the shortage, and …

The Role Of Neuroinflammation In Regulating The Age-Related Decline In Neurogenesis, Adam D. Bachstetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult neurogenesis, is a lifelong process by which relatively few cells are added into two restricted regions of the brain. Integration of the cells into the existing neuronal circulatory, with the unique properties involved in the maturation of these cells, is possibly critical to the acquisition and retrieval of new memories. With the chronological aging of the organism a process of cellular senescence occurs throughout the body; a portion of which is independent of primary alterations to the stem cells; instead, it appears to be dependent on the environment where the cells reside, and is in part regulated by inflammation. …

Adiposity, Stress, And Stigmatization: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Cardiovascular Disease Prediction, Kristi E. White

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to use a biopsychosocial approach to investigate the role of body image concerns and appearance-related evaluation stress in the relationship between adiposity and cardiovascular reactivity and recovery. Participants included 106 Caucasian female undergraduates at the University of South Florida. The laboratory procedure consisted of resting baseline, speech preparation and delivery, and recovery phases. Participants also completed a variety of body image questionnaires. To manipulate appearance-related evaluation stress, participants were randomly assigned to present their speech to a video camera or an audio recorder. Overall adiposity was measured as body mass index (BMI) and …

Prevalence Of Client Violence Against Social Work Students And Its Effects On Fear Of Future Violence, Occupational Commitment, And Career Withdrawal Intentions, Pamela Myatt Criss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social work literature has documented that social workers may be the victims of client violence. However, to date, no studies have documented the nationwide prevalence of client violence towards social work students. This study examined direct and indirect incidents of physical assault, threats of physical harm, verbal abuse, threats of lawsuit, and property damage. The randomly selected national sample of social work students were selected from the National Association of Social Workers (N = 595).

Findings revealed that 41.7% of social work students directly experienced client violence during their practicum. The highest rate of the violence reported by students was …

The Modern Community Garden Movement In The United States: Its Roots, Its Current Condition And Its Prospects For The Future, Joshua Birky

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Numerous researchers have shown that community gardens have the potential to eliminate social, communal, health, agricultural and economic problems that many in the United States and the rest of the world are facing. Yet, throughout history allotment and community gardens have been seen as improper elements of urban landscapes and used predominately for crisis mitigation and not as sustainable solutions. This thesis shows that the current U.S. community garden movement is inherently different than past unsustainable movements and may establish community gardens as sustainable features of many municipalities in the U.S. This is because the modern U.S. movement is supported …

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (Tnt) Air Concentrations, Hemoglobin Changes, And Anemia Cases In Respirator Protected Tnt Munitions Demilitarization Workers, Melville D. Bradley M.D.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene, TNT, is an explosive used in munitions production that is known to cause both aplastic and hemolytic anemia in exposed workers. Deaths have been reported secondary to both varieties of anemia. Studies have shown that TNT systemic absorption is significant by both the respiratory and dermal routes. A literature review revealed that the most recent review article on TNT exposure arguing for a TWA drop from the PEL to the TLV was in 1977 -- this article cited anemia issues in addition to other untoward effects of TNT. No studies encountered looked at hemoglobin change or anemia cases in …

Correlates Of Body Depilation In Men, Michael Boroughs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Body depilation is a relatively new area of research inquiry. Although women in many industrialized cultures have engaged in body depilation for some time, this behavior has been documented only recently in men. While originally thought to be the practice of just a small percentage of men, recent studies suggest that more men engage in body depilation than had been previously hypothesized (Boroughs & Thompson, 2002; Boroughs, Cafri, & Thompson, 2005; Martins, Tiggemann, & Churchett, 2008; Tiggemann, Martins, & Churchett, 2008). Nevertheless, this area of research is understudied and the relationship between body depilation and men's overall body image is …

Exploring The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse And Borderline Personality Features Using Social Support As A Moderating Factor, Meredith B. Elzy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a prominent issue in the etiological research on BPD. This study further explored the relationship between CSA and the development of borderline personality features while evaluating the moderating role of a primary social support source. The Inventory of Altered Self-Capacities (IASC) (Briere, 2000) was used to measure borderline features of participants in this study, a slightly modified version of the Early Sexual Experiences (ESE) questionnaire (Bartoi & Kinder, 1998) was used to evaluate childhood sexual abuse, and the Quality of Relationships Inventory (Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason, 1991) as well …

Southern Black Women: Their Lived Realities, Robin M. Boylorn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on the lived experiences of ten rural black women in a familial community in central North Carolina, this project documents the mundane and extraordinary events of their lives and how they create meaningful lives through storytelling. Theoretically grounded in black feminist thought, intersectionality theory and muted group theory the investigation calls for the use of storytelling and poetry to understand how rural black women experience, live, and communicate their lives. Merging the experiences of participants with the researcher, the study also considers the ethical implications of being an insider-outsider and offers suggestions for engaging in creative scholarship. The author …

Emergency Department Capacity Planning For A Pandemic Scenario: Nurse Allocation, Florentino Antonio Rico

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem considered in this research is the efficient allocation of resources in an emergency department during a large flow of patient consequent to a pandemic influenza breakout. Predicting the impact of a Pandemic Influenza is very complex due to the many unknown variables that may play a role to how severe a pandemic can be. Scenario planning is considered in this research to forecast different potential outcomes and help decision makers better understand the role of uncertainties and become prepared to make important decisions. The goal is to first create a forecast model to estimate the patient demand during …

Loyalty Of Online Faculty: A Work Design Perspective Of The Impact Of A Telecommuting Work Environment On Employee Loyalty, Kenneth N. Pereira

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This study empirically evaluates the theoretical impact of a telecommuting or online work environment on employee loyalty. While the concept of employee loyalty has been extensively researched, the concept of the impact of the work environment on employee loyalty is fairly new. Specifically, this study operationally defines the work environment characteristics that contribute to employee loyalty and examines the impact of the online or telecommuting work environment on employee loyalty. A survey instrument is utilized to collect perceptual data about the psychological components of the work environment and their impact on employee loyalty from the employee's perspective. Multiple linear …